booksaremysuperpower's review
2.0
(2-3 stars) Look, I'll say this: Steve Almond remains one of the most talented, generous, compassionate, quirky and profound writers I've ever come across. I find his writing (and teaching, if you've ever taken a workshop with him) astounding and inspiring. There's so much about him and his approach to craft that just works. Which is why it very much disappoints me to not fall head over heels in love with this novel.
It's certainly an ambitious effort. There's so much juicy and hard-hitting stuff in here: scorpions, science, Mormon sects living in Mexico, Reaganism, the 80s, child molestation, the prison system, racism, misogyny, teen angst, drugs, illegal immigration... perhaps it was too ambitious? I'm not sure all of these themes got equal weight and I often found myself adrift by the scope of the storytelling.
I also had a hard time connecting with these characters, if I'm honest. The only character that I truly followed with any curiosity was Detective Pedro Guerrero. In fact, if Guerrero was the protagonist to the story and not Lorena, I might have felt more invested overall. The middle section of the novel, where Guerrero is trying to do some serious detective work and go around his boss (and trying to take Lorena's word seriously but also protect her), was the strongest part of the book with true stakes, and Guerrero just came off as a more developed and nuanced character than the others. I cared about him and wanted him to succeed.
I mean, was I supposed to care about Marcus Stallworth, self-proclaimed child predator/abandoner of family/all around boring individual at all? The story hinges on his disappearance and only Lorena (after a too brief interaction with a map where she seems to solve the mystery of his whereabouts way too quickly), really, seems to care.
Different sections of the novel felt tonally all over the place, given such heavy themes. I wasn't sure where I supposed to land emotionally. The story of Tony Saenz and his treatment by the police and FBI is heart wrenching. Plus, his mother Graciela's constant fear of deportation was intense. But then we get little scenes with Nancy Reagan consulting her astrologer on how she (and the President) should handle major affairs (which is apparently factual), and it comes off as humorous and a little wacky - too light, in some ways, for the full weight of such a novel.
What I think ultimately kept me from fully sinking into the story, however, was the format. There are no chapter breaks, just aspects of the story, not always linear, told by different points of view, and separated into 5 “books.” I needed chapter breaks! There is so much to take in here and my reader brain felt quite overwhelmed by the constant shifts in POV, location, facts, time lapses, etc.
I'm probably in the minority on this read but perhaps my expectations were high too, since this is his first published novel. Writing wise, Almond still crafts beautifully intricate and vivid sentences, even though I wasn't a fan of the actual story. For the location, he definitely captured California and the 80s quite well. I did feel transported back in time.
I'm looking forward to what's next!
It's certainly an ambitious effort. There's so much juicy and hard-hitting stuff in here: scorpions, science, Mormon sects living in Mexico, Reaganism, the 80s, child molestation, the prison system, racism, misogyny, teen angst, drugs, illegal immigration... perhaps it was too ambitious? I'm not sure all of these themes got equal weight and I often found myself adrift by the scope of the storytelling.
I also had a hard time connecting with these characters, if I'm honest. The only character that I truly followed with any curiosity was Detective Pedro Guerrero. In fact, if Guerrero was the protagonist to the story and not Lorena, I might have felt more invested overall. The middle section of the novel, where Guerrero is trying to do some serious detective work and go around his boss (and trying to take Lorena's word seriously but also protect her), was the strongest part of the book with true stakes, and Guerrero just came off as a more developed and nuanced character than the others. I cared about him and wanted him to succeed.
I mean, was I supposed to care about Marcus Stallworth, self-proclaimed child predator/abandoner of family/all around boring individual at all? The story hinges on his disappearance and only Lorena (after a too brief interaction with a map where she seems to solve the mystery of his whereabouts way too quickly), really, seems to care.
Different sections of the novel felt tonally all over the place, given such heavy themes. I wasn't sure where I supposed to land emotionally. The story of Tony Saenz and his treatment by the police and FBI is heart wrenching. Plus, his mother Graciela's constant fear of deportation was intense. But then we get little scenes with Nancy Reagan consulting her astrologer on how she (and the President) should handle major affairs (which is apparently factual), and it comes off as humorous and a little wacky - too light, in some ways, for the full weight of such a novel.
What I think ultimately kept me from fully sinking into the story, however, was the format. There are no chapter breaks, just aspects of the story, not always linear, told by different points of view, and separated into 5 “books.” I needed chapter breaks! There is so much to take in here and my reader brain felt quite overwhelmed by the constant shifts in POV, location, facts, time lapses, etc.
I'm probably in the minority on this read but perhaps my expectations were high too, since this is his first published novel. Writing wise, Almond still crafts beautifully intricate and vivid sentences, even though I wasn't a fan of the actual story. For the location, he definitely captured California and the 80s quite well. I did feel transported back in time.
I'm looking forward to what's next!
readers_block's review
4.0
An extremely unique, haunting story that touches on the criminal justice system, immigration, love and attraction, families and so many other profound topics.
This story is quite winding and likely will lead you places you don't expect, but I really enjoyed the ride.
This story is quite winding and likely will lead you places you don't expect, but I really enjoyed the ride.
cristeal's review
2.0
Flawed but okay. I have trouble trusting Almond to write the stories of the Central Valley, Latinx immigrants and young vulnerable women. I skimmed a lot in the middle. The book wrapped up nicely, I guess.
rileyzuckert's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
srpeterson42's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
liannab45's review
4.0
this book was wild! there were so many through lines and specific themes that tied to different points in the story. I really enjoyed the different perspectives of understanding both how one person is viewing what is happening to them currently and then zooming out to a greater understanding of the situation from a different character's perspective. there were interesting themes that I haven't read much about, including life on the Mexican-American border, inherently evil victims, prison life, and disparities in American socio economic lives. However, there were a lot of characters to keep track of and the story felt slow at times.
syellico's review
4.0
Phew that was a wild ride! Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the pre-release copy of the audiobook.
What seemingly starts as a story about two middle school girls in the mid-1980’s from different “sides of the track” forming a friendship centered around a science fair, turns into a crazy ride with two families caught up in a whole lot of trauma. The book moves between California and Mexico, with themes of immigration, police corruption, politics, classism, racism, astrology, science, religion, domestic abuse, suicide, and even pedophilia. There are plenty of trigger warnings here, but the story moves along and keeps you guessing. There is also plenty here to make you really angry about the state of things in our country during the Reagan era, and knowing not much has changed now is even more frustrating. The audio was excellent. The narrator Roxanne Hernandez was so good at voicing all of these characters and keeping the correct accents. It was easy to keep track of all the characters because she did such a great performance.
What seemingly starts as a story about two middle school girls in the mid-1980’s from different “sides of the track” forming a friendship centered around a science fair, turns into a crazy ride with two families caught up in a whole lot of trauma. The book moves between California and Mexico, with themes of immigration, police corruption, politics, classism, racism, astrology, science, religion, domestic abuse, suicide, and even pedophilia. There are plenty of trigger warnings here, but the story moves along and keeps you guessing. There is also plenty here to make you really angry about the state of things in our country during the Reagan era, and knowing not much has changed now is even more frustrating. The audio was excellent. The narrator Roxanne Hernandez was so good at voicing all of these characters and keeping the correct accents. It was easy to keep track of all the characters because she did such a great performance.
erinlibrarian's review
4.0
This was an intense read as the story itself was enthralling and gripping, but many of the characters did such appalling, inexcusable things. It really did a great job creating a sense of time and place (1980s California). There are a lot of parallels between current times in privilege, policing, and immigration. I can definitely see this generating a lot of discussion in a book club!